Guess who's doing wushu again?

That would be me, of course.
Earlier this week, I was contemplating the sore state of my leaping and posing skills, and decided I should get into performance wushu again. There's a place that meets on Saturdays about two miles away from my house, so I went and checked it out yesterday.
It was pretty much everything I expected - we stretched, we kicked, we stretch kicked, we spun and leapt through the air. No talk of qi gong, of how kung fu is better than karate because we block with circle, of ancient masters who could punch through brick walls.
I don't like when form-based martial arts (karate/CMA/Silat/whatever) insist that their kata/tao lu/jurus are in fact a highly effective training tool, and that spending so many times reciting them has nothing to do with getting higher points in the next kata competition. With wushu, though, it's transparent - the goal is to look neat. There's no real pretense of fighting. I'm hoping to eventually learn some three section staff routines. Those things are hella-cool.
Also, wushu meets on the same day as Judo, about three hours later. Saturdays are gooooood.

I guess that the key being that you are having fun, everyone else is having fun, they don't think of what they are doing as being "street effective" but "performance art effective" (I like the sound of that term actually) then all I ask is you show video of your progress if possible.

I guess that the key being that you are having fun, everyone else is having fun, they don't think of what they are doing as being "street effective" but "performance art effective" (I like the sound of that term actually) then all I ask is you show video of your progress if possible.

I like that term, too, as it explains why Wushu is better than XMA :p.
Around Christmas, I may be getting a digital camcorder, so I might be able to show off my moves by then.

I understand completely. Life's short, have fun. Just watch your joints, young man. Those new routines are murder on the body. The three section staff is cool, but I like the steel whip as well. Except for the floor part. MY back couldn't take it.

It's interesting when I thought about it. When you think about it, "performance art effective" martial arts are usually the martial arts that translate to "performance arts" which could be considered stunt work, movies, etc.

I understand completely. Life's short, have fun. Just watch your joints, young man. Those new routines are murder on the body. The three section staff is cool, but I like the steel whip as well. Except for the floor part. MY back couldn't take it.

Yeah, I take glucosamine supplements to tend to my joints. BJJ and Judo can also be a bit rough on the body, especially when you get paired off with a spaz.
The steel whip was actually one of the first weapons I learned, alongside the straightsword. A bit of an unusual starter, I know. Flexible weapons are nice, since they let you know when you make mistakes. ^_~

Yeah, I take glucosamine supplements to tend to my joints. BJJ and Judo can also be a bit rough on the body, especially when you get paired off with a spaz.

Yeah, I know the feeling, I've started taking Glucosamine as well as Chondroitin. Some products have them separate, many have them together. One of the problems I had is with Glucosamine. Because it's primarily made from shellfish, I couldn't use it because I have shellfish allergies. I did find a vegan form of it so I'm good to go. There is also a herb called Cissus Quandrangularis that seems to be popping up in articles about joint, tendon and ligament repair as well. I've been checking into it.